Have you ever wondered about the vaccines for polio? I remember lining up for shots in grade school. I think those were for smallpox, where they left a big scar by poking your arm repeatedly. Then we went to another school as a district to get sugar cubes. We had already gotten shot for polio, but I guess we needed the other one, too. What do I know? I was a kid.
This book was good as it gave me more of a history of the polio vaccines. We get to know the scientists. We meet the woman who might have had the most to do with this nearly sacred health benefit of baby boomers.
Hillary Huber (Narrator) made this story come to life. She played each character with distinction.
The author wrote a good story though it was full of duplication. The most annoying for this pianist was hearing Moonlight Sonata mentioned repeatedly. I don’t mind it as a piece. I love playing it, but there had to be other pieces of music you could have thrown into the story.
Who recommended this to me? Thank you, whoever you are. I am usually not into romance novels, but I loved this all the way through! However, recommended, I do remember looking it up and finding it on Libby.
Mela Lee (Narrator) told the story with believable passion.
I’m crazy about medical stories; a Grey’s Anatomy fan from the beginning, Dr. Kildare, started me out when I was a child. So this story pulled me right in. That it included a younger generation of adults and another culture made it even more engaging.
I may come back to reread this when I need a light distraction again.
First of all, don’t read this book before going to sleep. Or you won’t, especially from the part about 9/11 on. Still, it is such an engaging read. And the narrator, Tanya Eby, made the book lively, even though much of it is about death.
If Grey’s Anatomy has taught me anything about the life of a potential surgeon, it is the lack of sleep and how dangerous that lack can be for the doctor and the patient. It is that lack of sleep and trying to be a young mother that the author, Judy Melinek, realized she needed a different path, even though this path was nearly finished for the author. But all that training did lead her to be a Medical Examiner in New York.
We Americans hide from sex and death. We can talk of taxes until the cows come home. But of the two topics, death seems the least discussed. And that is too bad. We need to know about that part of life for ourselves and our loved ones.
If you are a writer, this book can be quite the reference. I can see many ways the book can be used to write a mystery or lend credence to a fatality in the novel.
I highly recommend this book, especially in audio form. I was lucky to pick it up from the library on Libby.
The narrator, Shelly Frasier, made this book so exciting and fun. Well, despite this book being about cadavers and all.
The book was nonfiction, but the author’s stories keep a heavy and sad topic intriguing. Mary Roach includes a history of how humans have handled the dead. She also shows the research of what is working and what is actually causing harm to us and the planet.
I feel the blurb says it best, and with it, you may know if this is for you or not. I might have said no, but a friend told me about it, and she’s usually a bit more squeamish, but she loved it.
“A contagiously cheerful exploration of the cruel diligences executed on some of our bodies when, after death, we abandon them on the threshold of their graves, this book shows us cadavers turned into carcasses, and scientific experiments, the deceased who contribute to the progress of medicine with perforated genitals and extracted eyes, flesh flung from airplanes or shot with bullets to verify the efficiency of new weapons, and discards crucified like Jesus or devoured by maggots. Mary Roach has written a book that explores the great beyond in order to show us the more visible and deplorable side of the next life.”
Try it, you might like it, and possibly learn something. By the way, I got my audio copy from Libby. For those that don’t know it is a library lending service for Kindle or Audiobooks.
I borrowed this audio copy from the e-library on Libby. I have had a lot of fun listening to this book. Even though it is non-fiction, I found it hugely entertaining.
The narrators, Brian Nishii, Courtney Patterson, Piper Goodeve, had me fooled as I truly thought they were the authors. Their voices were energetic and friendly. I have heard Doctor Jason Fung on YouTubes. By the way, look him up; fascinating and informative videos.
The three authors give you different views of Intermittent Fasting. The Doctor gives scientific, medical information. Megan Ramos gives the advice she gives to her clients, and Eve Mayer talks about her weight loss journey. I like having the book broke up that way. It’s nice not getting overwhelmed by the medical data, or too much advice told in one spot, or too much of a person’s journey without knowing the science of why certain things happened.
Okay, maybe I didn’t explain this well enough. This might show how much I enjoyed this audiobook. I plan to buy this so I can revisit it from time to time. Glad I got to borrow it from the library first.
This was a surprise. I thought it was going to be a bit of a dull read. Especially since I was reading it at bedtime. But bedtime is the time to read something dull. It helps you sleep, right? Nope! This was very interesting. I found myself engrossed in the information staying up as late reading this as any sci-fi or fantasy I usually read. Despite the facts and figures of the research the author pursued, he was able to keep the subject matter personable. The occasional pun kept my mind in the read.
I was fortunate enough to get this copy from our library. I highly recommend this book.
This wasn’t a favorite book for me. I was not fond of the characters all that much. I had hoped for more medical and less romantic angst. The erotica scenes were okay. They were necessary for the plot to move along.
I did find it interesting to watch how jealousy and trust issues played the same as they do in straight books and see some of the reasons they exist in the first case.
It may be me or this time in our lives that the book didn’t work for me. Maybe you will read it and love it. I do like how T.B. Markinson writes her stories. Regardless of how invested I am, I find I must read to the end to see what happens. This one did end nicely.
Oh, and I got this on Kindle Unlimited, so free-ish!
No this isn’t about Mamas and the Papas. Just couldn’t figure a good title for this small bloggy. Besides, bet that earworm took! 😀
I don’t have enough time to gather all the looms to do a Make-it Monday: Two sock-looms are in use, there are a few dolls I need to stuff and sew closed, a little hat for a doll on the littlest loom, a baby hat on the next bigger, all in process and nothing near finished product.
So, while knitting, binging, right? Tried Royal Pain but too flirty and not enough medical to keep my interest. I’ll try again later. Instead, I went for an old favorite that has added new seasons: Call the Midwife. I love that show. I miss Miranda (Chumie) but the newer cast is still sweet. One of the best parts of this show is following women and health issues over the past couple of centuries. If you were there at the beginning, there were few cars only bicycles. They even went through war.
I’m at about 1962 in a most recent episode. They talk about Kennedy and Cuba crises. So it isn’t just the women’s health it shows what else is going on in the world at the time. On the last episode, they showed the results of the drug given for morning sickness back then Thalidomide.
This show doesn’t hold back when it comes to things women have been through over the years. I do so wish the midwife was a more acceptable way for birth. My last two were homebirths so I have a love for that kind of birth. Don’t get me wrong. There is a good reason to have hospitals and doctors on hand, but I think the woman to woman care is missing for those who need to go to the hospital.
My second experience in the hospital were people running around yelling the phones were out. My first was a most uncomfortable affair with not the slightest care as to what I wanted or what baby and I actually needed. I studied a lot about being a midwife, but by the time I had babies three and four, I didn’t have the time or energy to go for it. So this show helps fulfill some of that. I find I love all the characters and how well they tell the story. And that music gets me going! I can guarantee that I will shed at least a tear with every viewing! This is a herstory that everyone should watch and maybe get the other side of history.
When the author asked me to review this book I stated that I mostly read books by females with strong female leads. But I took a moment and realized that this was a male nurse. He knew where I was coming from, and he’d proven himself. So I figured his book deserved my read.
It was good. If my feet and back could have handled it, I would have tried to be a doctor or a nurse. I was a candy striper with that aim. But not only couldn’t I handle it physically, when one of my patients died I found that to be too hard to take. Granted I was sixteen, not enough life experience to know people come and go from your life. But that little bit of experience made what I read in Oh, Nurse! ring even truer.
As I usually say when reviewing a biography or autobiography, this is someone’s life. It is hard to play judge and jury when watching them walk in their own shoes. I wish I would be able to say this book encourages future nurses. But, with medical marriage with insurance, I don’t think it is going to get better any time soon. The greatest profession should still be nursing. They are the patient advocate, or at least they should be. They are invaluable to doctors, at least they should be.
I have always loved shows like Greys Anatomy, ER, all those medical shows. They are there to give us all an eye into what is happening or can happen when personalities and money are involved in trying to take care of medical issues people present with.
I hope that in spite of his honest story of his life as a nurse, others will choose to go into that career. I hope his story opens the eyes of those in charge of our medical needs to how to make things right for all.
Working on my series: Haven.
Doodler (zendoodle.com)
Music major: voice and piano
Mom of four great adults
Reiki II practitioner
I have been on disability/retired for 10 years now from depression, anxiety and fibromyalgia.
Transform your health and wellness with our expert tips and insights. Discover the latest trends in nutrition, fitness, mental health, personal finance, entrepreneurship and learn how to make meaningful changes to live your best life.
Welcome to my personal blog site. I see myself as a free thinker, life explorer, and wisdom collector. Some of my favorite subjects are psychology, philosophy, relationships, society, reading, writing, technology, and lifestyle.
The Woman With the Cure by Lynn Cullen
Darswords 
You must be logged in to post a comment.